UK: Israel’s Settlements Harm its International Standing

Thursday May 24, 2012 16:30 by William Temple - IMEMC & Agencies

The WAFA News Agency reported today a UK Foreign Office statement issued on Wednesday. British Foreign Secretary William Hague told his visiting Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman that Israel’s settlement expansion in Jerusalem and the West Bank harms its international standing.

UK Foreign Secretary Hague and Foreign Minister Lieberman

“I made clear the UK’s concern about the current stalemate in the Middle East peace process, and our view that there is an urgent need for progress,” Hague told Lieberman when they met on Tuesday according to the press release.

“I expressed the UK’s firm view that continued illegal Israeli settlement expansion in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is harming Israel's international standing and endangering the two-state solution,” he said.

Hague stressed Britain’s “unswerving support for a lasting two-state solution to the conflict that achieves a secure Israel alongside a sovereign and viable Palestinian State, based on the borders of 1967, with Jerusalem the future capital of both states, and a fair settlement for refugees.”

He said Britain was ready to work with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to bring that about.